Why do we go through the trouble to get up every weekday to commute to work? Sure we need the money and it can be fun to spend the day with our coworkers. However, are their motivational factors that make the difference when it comes to committing ourselves fully to our jobs and businesses?
This is a question of great interest to behavioral economist Dan Ariely. So much so that he did several experiments which aimed to probe deep into how people assign value to the work they do. The results of the experiments were shared in a TED Talk. From the video description:
What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn’t just money. But it’s not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work.
The quest for greater efficiency and productivity in our work is a noble endeavor. However, in every quest there is an obstacle in the way of success. In this case, it is our own unconscious default behavior that sabotages our best efforts at change and keeps us stuck at square one.
Chip and Dan Heath discuss this dilemma in their book, 
In his blog, Brian Knight of the company 
It would be nice if productivity and efficiency practices were instant install, point, click, and forget applications; the type of thing you only have to do once to set on autopilot forever. Unfortunately, the art of knowledge work requires ongoing diligent application of core concepts in order to keep the system functioning smoothly. Alas, it is very easy to fall off the wagon and resume old habits.
In the past I have pointed to the work of 
As we pursue greater efficiency in our work lives, some paradoxes may appear that seem to define common sense. For many years I taught and practiced yoga, which emphasized the need for relaxation or effort as a tool to go deeper. In a recent blog post, David Allen highlights the art of speeding up by slowing down.
Unfortunately, our regular jobs rarely come with scoreboards. Lacking that immediate feedback, it can be challenging to know if you daily work is making a difference. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a scoreboard of your own to measure progress? There is a way to create one – write down SMART Goals.
In order to discover new and exciting things in life, we have to be willing to explore options. This will naturally result in some failures, but the treasures out there waiting to be discovered can be worth the effort. However, once we have found a great resource it is tempting to keeping going back to the well to get as much of it as possible. In the book, 
Efficient Librarian 